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Sunday, February 2, 2014

February 2014: Doppler by Erlend Loe

We will be meeting at Pete & Chandra's on Friday, February 7th for our 3rd annual "Couples' Night" book club meeting. The meeting will begin at 7:30pm.

Discussion questions
for Doppler

Did you enjoy the book?Why or why not?

Were you engaged
immediately, or did it take you a while to "get into it"? How did you
feel reading it—amused, sad, disturbed, confused, bored...?

Why did Doppler leave his
family like he did?What was his
motivation?Were his actions justified?

Describe the dynamics
between Doppler and his father; his daughter; his wife.

Do you admire or disapprove
of Doppler’s decision to live in the forest?

Did Doppler change by the
end of the book?Did he learn something
about himself and how the world works?

What role does Bongo play
in the book?

“According to the moose calendar, he’s on the cusp of becoming a
teenager, I would guess. This is a sensitive and defiant period, and we have
many long discussions about it. Bongo leaves the tent in a temper several
times, but happily he always comes back.”How strange is it that Doppler is engaging
in regular conversation with a moose?Do
you think he possibly suffered a mental injury when he fell from his bike?

Did any passages strike
you as insightful, even profound?

“One problem with people
is that as soon as they fill a space it’s them you see and not the space.
Large, desolate landscapes stop being large, desolate landscapes once they have
people in them. They define what the eye sees. And the human eye is almost
always directed at other humans. In this way an illusion is created that humans
are more important than those things on earth which are not human. It’s a sick
illusion.” Discuss.

Is the ending satisfying?
If so, why? If not, why not...and how would you change it?

Would you recommend this
book to a friend?

The menu will be comprised of typical Norwegian dishes, including some foods specifically mentioned by or enjoyed by Doppler: